On 11th November, 4E went on a Cultural Education trip to Farmleigh House. A woman named Joyce showed us around and was a mine of information. The house belongs to the Irish state and is to host events for visiting dignitaries.
Edward Sesel, who founded Guinness, bought the estate of 78 acres in 1873 and owned it for 120 years. He died the second richest man in the British Empire.
He bought Farmleigh House as a country house. It was originally a two story, Georgian house, and Sesel doubled it in size and also added on a third floor. It was sold in 1999 to the Irish Government for €29.9m.
The house has two Presidential suites, one named “De Valera” and the other “Michael Collins”, in recognition of their roles in ending British Rule. The dining room can hold up to 175 people for dinner, and every TV channel in the world can be viewed in the House. There is also top notch security, a gymnasium, business suites, a linen closet and a secret escape route. There is a lake, 3 acres in size, from which the House can generate electricity. At Christmas time, there are markets held in the courtyard, a live crib, choirs and also horse & carriage rides around the Estate.
The first person to visit Farmleigh House after it was sold by the Guinness Family was the first Premier of China, who came with 200 guards. On the 3rd of May 2007, a session of ten EU countries was held here, with 25 Heads of State attending the ceremony. We learned on our trip that the national colour of Ireland is blue, not green, contrary to what people usually think, and that Edward Sleven designed the EU flag. The blue represents the colour of his country, and the stars represent the crown of our lady.
Farmleigh House contains Dutch Tapestries which are over 4000 years old. There is also an 18th century, medieval debtery chair replica in the hall. The person sits in the chair and when a switch is pulled, the legs fall through with your feet in the air, with a metal bar coming out and trapping you. Irish Oak, the finest and strongest type, is used throughout the house. The library in Farmleigh House was designed by a Kerry man. It contains 800 years of sources of Irish History, dating back to 1270. Queen Elizabeth’s Irish Grammar book is here from when she tried to communicate with the Irish when Ireland was under British rule. The first sentence is “How are you?” and the last is “Let’s speak in Latin”. Irish is the third oldest language, right after Greek and Latin. There is also 30 years of Daniel O’Connell’s papers on Catholic emancipation and a statue of Tim Buckley. He was illiterate and was the last story teller in Ireland.
Our trip to Farmleigh House was very both enjoyable and very interesting. It is a grand estate with years of history. Many important people stay here, and it is also a home to many animals.
By Marian O’Higgins 4E
